Tallink appoints arts expert as CEO

Paavo Nõgene has been a board member at Estonia’s opera, concert hall and gambling authority.

The Estonian shipping giant Tallink Grupp has appointed an arts specialist as its new chief executive officer, replacing the current CEO, Janek Stalmeister, who remains in the group as a member of the board.

Shares in the cruise and ferry company fell sharply at the end of March on news that the leading duty free and travel retailer on the Baltic Sea had terminated its search for a strategic partner amid plans to replace its chief executive.

Paavo Nõgene, who takes up his new role on May 1, will serve a term of three years. He has been engaged as the secretary general of Estonia’s Ministry of Culture since January 2013.

Prior to this, he was the managing director of the country’s biggest theatre, the Vanemuine, although he has also been active in private entrepreneurship.

Nõgene is currently a member of the supervisory board of Estonian National Broadcasting and the national opera, as well as chairman of the board of the Estonian Art Museum, the Estonian Concert Hall, the Estonian Drama Theatre, the Vanemuine Theatre and the Estonian Film Institute. He is also a member of the Estonian Gambling Tax Board.

Future prospects
“Tallink Grupp is a strong international company, the results of which speak for themselves,” Enn Pant, chairman of the supervisory board at Tallink, said.

“Today’s Supervisory Board decision and the appointment of new chief executive officer Paavo Nõgene will only strengthen Tallink’s current position and future prospects.”

Tallink owns 14 ships and operates the brands Tallink and Silja Line on six different routes. The company employs more than 7,400 people and over 9.8 million passengers travelled on its ferries last year.